KHRT ND NEWS - WEDNESDAY - 11/15/17 - MORNING EDITION

Voters in the Des Lacs-Burlington school district have approved an $11.9 million bond issue for school construction and renovation....

MINOT, N.D. (AP) - Voters in the Des Lacs-Burlington school district have approved an $11.9 million bond issue for school construction and renovation. 62-percent of voters said yes in Tuesdays election. 60-percent was needed to pass.

Voters narrowly defeated a $15.4 million bond referendum in April.

The bond issue will pay for a junior high school wing for the high school in Des Lacs. Seventh- and eighth-graders who currently attend school in Burlington will move to Des Las in the fall of 2019. That will enable the district to offer them more classes, such as art and vocational agriculture. The district also will renovate classrooms at the elementary in Burlington and build a kindergarten wing.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Airline passenger numbers declined in North Dakota in October. State Aeronautics Commission data show that boardings at the eight commercial service airports in the state dropped nearly 5 percent from the previous year. Year-to-date boardings were down a little less than 2 percent.

Airports in the state's four largest cities all saw decreases in boardings in October - Fargo down 3 percent, Minot down 5 percent, Grand Forks down 7 percent and Bismarck down 11 percent. Devils Lake also saw a decrease, of 4 percent, while Williston and Jamestown both saw 5 percent increases and Dickinson had a 20 percent rise.

MINOT, N.D. (AP) - A trial date is set for the dispute over whether a pioneer village museum can be evicted from the North Dakota State Fairgrounds. The Minot Daily News reports the civil trial will be held Jan. 30 in the fight between the State Fair Association and the Ward County Historical Society, which runs the museum. The association wants to remove the museum from the fairgrounds to use the property for different purposes. The historical society defends the museum's right to stay under a 1966 agreement.

NEW TOWN, N.D. (AP) - Authorities looking for a missing New Town woman will be searching Lake Sakakawea this week. Thirty-two-year-old Olivia Lone Bear was last seen the evening of Oct. 24 leaving a New Town restaurant. Ground and air searches for the mother of five children have been ongoing since. Officials this week plan to use air boats to search in the New Town area. No foul play is suspected in Lone Bear's disappearance.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - An appeals court has ruled that a federal judge in North Dakota was correct in not barring police from using harsh methods against Dakota Access pipeline protesters. There have been no protests since February, but the decision Tuesday will allow a lawsuit to proceed in which pipeline opponents allege they were subjected to police brutality and their civil rights were violated. The lawsuit seeking unspecified damages has been on hold for nine months.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Federal officials say an Iowa company has recalled salads and sandwich wraps sent out to vending machines in three states because they were distributed without federal inspection. Marengo-based Pride of Iowa Sandwiches is recalling products containing more than 230 pounds of chicken, pork and beef sent to vending machine locations in Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) - The North Dakota Highway Patrol says it is transitioning from white to black patrol vehicles. Capt. Bryan Niewind tells KFGO radio that trooper safety was a consideration. He says darker patrol cars are more visible during the snowy winter months. The first black patrol vehicle is on the road around Jamestown.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The state-owned Bank of North Dakota is getting out of the federal student loan business. Bank President Eric Hardmeyer says the move will enable the bank to focus on its own student loan program, which has been growing. The bank is selling the federal portfolio to the nonprofit North Texas Higher Education Authority. The sale won't affect borrowers' interest rates, payment amounts or due dates.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - North Dakota's first family won't be having Thanksgiving dinner at the new governor's mansion. Capitol Facilities Manager John Boyle says officials had hoped for Gov. Doug Burgum to move into a new home by next week. But he says construction of the new 13,600-square-foot home is running a few weeks behind schedule. Boyle says the completion date is now set for next month.

The Legislature authorized $4 million from the state's Capitol Building Fund and $1 million from private donations to construct the building. Boyle says about $850,000 in private money has been raised so far. Supporters say building a new official home for the governor was more cost-effective than renovating the current mansion, which will be torn down.